Tag Archives: Legislative Advocacy Conference

If you attended your WASB fall regional meeting, you heard us talk about what a unique opportunity we have for K-12 education heading into the Nov. 6 election and the next state budget. We have a public concerned about K-12 and showing historic levels of support for investing in public schools. This combination has led to support for K-12 being a central issue in the race for governor and in high-profile state legislative races.

The period between the election and the start of the next legislative session in January is the ideal time to begin (or continue) developing relationships with your state legislators. As former legislative staff, Dan Rossmiller & Chris Kulow will describe the inner workings of legislative offices with tips and insight on how to make efficient and effective contacts on behalf of your schools. Continue reading Plan to attend one of the new WASB Legislative Advocacy Workshops→

This year’s WASB Legislative Advocacy Conference is this Saturday, November 4 in Stevens Point. Online registration is closed but onsite registration will be available so you can still attend even if you haven’t registered yet.

The costs of voucher programs will jump by $25 million this year over the previous (2016-17) school year.

In addition, public school districts across the state will have their state aid reduced by nearly $43 million to pay the costs of voucher students who reside in their districts and who first enrolled in and participated in the Statewide or Racine voucher programs in 2015-16 or later. These students are referred to in state law as “incoming” voucher pupils. Continue reading Statewide Tab for Private School Vouchers Reaches $270 Million→

This year’s WASB Legislative Advocacy Conference will take a closer look at the current and future direction of school funding, including the growing impact the expansion of vouchers is having on district budgets and tax levies.

We’ll talk with two key state legislators to find out their thoughts and plans on school funding and education policy, including steps Wisconsin can take to improve student achievement to better compete with schools in the highest performing nations.

You’ll also hear directly from fellow school board members about how they have become effective advocates for their schools and the children in their districts and the impact their efforts are having on shaping legislative decision making.

The 2016 Legislative Advocacy Conference gave WASB members the opportunity to hear from experts on major public education issues headed into the next state budget and provided attendees with crucial information on the legislative process going into next session.

With the state’s finances once again looking tight, what will the 2017-19 state budget bring for public schools? How will the 2016 election shape our state and federal government? What does polling tell us about how voter attitudes produced the results seen on November 8 and what do those attitudes portend for the future? How severe is Wisconsin‘s teacher shortage and what steps does the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) plan to take to address the supply and demand for educators?

Dr. Michael R. Ford, Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, has a posted new article looking at how school board members in Wisconsin view accountability. He outlines the results of a survey of board members being asked how they define accountability. How the question was answered did not mean as much as members of the same school board showing agreement in their answers:

This is where things got interesting. We looked deeper at our data to determine whether a majority of board members serving together defined accountability in the same way. After controlling for student and district characteristics we found a statistically significant relationship between board member agreement on accountability definitions and district performance. In other words, when board members have a common approach to accountability, regardless of the approach, outcomes improve. How much? Districts whose boards agreed on a definition have accountability scores that are 2.5 points higher than those that did not. While not a massive difference, it demonstrates that something as simple as working towards a common understanding of accountability can enable boards to have a real positive impact on student achievement.Continue reading How School Boards Impact Student Outcomes Through Accountability→

Looking forward to exhibiting at the @WASBWI WI State Education Convention next week in Milwaukee! Visit our booth to learn about our recent school projects and all the services we offer our clients! #2019EdConpic.twitter.com/QgBIP2pVqf

Wisconsin remains one of the few states without laws outlining how schools should help dyslexic learners. In a series of posts, we'll examine several study committees that recently completed their work on topics related to #k12 education in #publicschools. bit.ly/2CmNIespic.twitter.com/xrxou89c8J